My Blog List

Monday, September 29, 2014

As some have noticed, my writing frequency here has dropped considerably. And changed a bit.

For the past couple of months, I've been writing preparedness and homesteading posts over at BoomerPreps.com. I even borrowed a couple from here! A group of us have been working our tails off trying to put together a "go to" site on preparedness issues and techniques - initially targeted towards Baby Boomers - hence the name.

And while those of us who are a bit less physical, and a bit less quick, and a bit more experienced are the primary focus for the site, we've expanded our scope to encompass anyone that just wants to put forth the effort, with the goal of improving their personal independence.

We've got a great group of writers - always looking for more (hint, hint!) - hoping to give a wide variety of viewpoints and perspectives on this very important goal.

I invite you to drop on by, kick the tires, leave a comment or two and see how you like the joint. We are always open to suggestions on content, topics and the like. Let us know what you're looking for.

Unlike this site, the content is strictly, "how to". If you enjoy my weekly (or so) rants on the politics of being prepared, keep coming by here. I need to blow off some steam now and again!

A request (or 3):

1. Join our mailing list (under the big hand on the home page - follow the finger...). We keep you up to date on new articles and information (free and premium) added to the site. We give you our blood oath we will never, ever give, share, sell, trade or barter your address to any other party. Never.

2. If you have a website or blog, please give us a link. Thanks in advance.

3. If you have a Facebook, Twitter or Google+ page, please like us, follow us, or join us, as the case may be. Our Facebook and Twitter feeds will be the only place we ever delve into politics for the site!

Your continued support is much appreciated.

---Share this post! Click the Twitter, Facebook or Google+ icon below, and let your friends know!Copyright 2014 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Where are the, "Islam is a religion of peace" supporters? You know, the ones who say violence is not part of core Islam.

As most of America now knows, a recently fired worker, Alton Nolen, (aka Jah' keem Yisrael to his ISIS-lovin' Facebook buddies) of Moore, Oklahoma, brutally stabbed, then chopped off the head of a former co-worker. He then proceeded to stab another woman, but was stopped by another coworker who had a concealed carry permit, and shot the "peaceful" Islamist, stopping his very real rein of terror.

Let's recap, shall we?

Those evil, awful, gun nuts once again saved - at the very minimum - 1 person's life. This Islamic nut job was on a roll, and would have surely killed many more. One man, one gun, countless lives saved. Seriously, what is wrong with these gun-grabbers?

The War On Women in America is non-existent outside of the minds of liberal, professional victim-mongers. Unless, that is, you count the Islamist's that are waging war on all women, everywhere. How can these women's groups remain silent? Women are raped, mutilated and murdered as normal daily activities by these radical Islamists, but you want to get your panties in a wad because of some perceived "glass ceiling"?

Religion of Peace supporters? Crickets chirping. Why? Because they're so lacking in numbers - or backbone - to be effectively non-existent.

DO NOT let the administration and their RINO supporters lull you into the belief that if we, "kill them over there, we won't have to kill them here." It's unadulterated crap.

They are assuming you are a soft-headed bot that is easily swayed by the fear they peddle. You know that to make, "the homeland" safe, we must secure our borders. Stop the bastards from entering, and they can do no harm.

Still, some will make it through, and others - like this US-born, Jah' keem Yisrael - will stage attacks. An armed citizenry will stop them before their terror spreads past the initial victim.

Remember: You cannot stop a "lone wolf" attacker. It is impossible. Dropping bombs in the Middle East or turning the US into Check Point Charlie will do nothing. Well, nothing good.

You want to live in a constant state of fear or perceived victimhood, go ahead. I don't have time for you. I've got too much living to do.

---

A bit of a follow-up to last week's post on police abuse.

Watch this video.

If this bastard isn't fired from his job.... oh never mind. He'll get a slap on the wrist, and nothing more. I'm sure his union rep is putting together a compelling tale about how the stress of the job pushed him over the edge, and he now needs to go on paid disability leave for the rest of his life.

Think what would happen if an employee at Macy's treated a customer in the same manner.

"BUYING A BLOUSE IS NOT A RIGHT, IT'S A PRIVILEGE. GIVE ME YOUR CREDIT CARD AND ID! NOW!"

That clerk would be fired on the spot, and charges would most likely be made by the victim for assault.

Why is a clerk at a retail store held to a higher standard than a public servant?

As I stated last week, it is ongoing, constant abuses such as these that eventually result in responses such as that of Mr. Frein sniping police officers in Pennsylvania.

You can only push so far.

---Share this post! Click the Twitter, Facebook or Google+ icon below, and let your friends know!Copyright 2014 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Saturday, September 20, 2014

I've written a number of times about how I believe incidents like the "crazy survivalist" who shot the two cops up in Pennsylvania will be a growing trend.

I think the last time I wrote about it was when the two cops in Las Vegas got gunned down while eating lunch.

The time before that might have been when Christopher Dorner - a former LA cop and former US Navy Reserve officer - blasted the hell out of a bunch of LA cops, and others.

Regardless, and sadly, I've been right. And until the police change their actions and attitude, it will continue.

Before I get into some of the egregious acts the police have been committing, let me lay some groundwork. I recently came upon a nearly two-centuries old set of principles for good policework. In fact, many police agencies today, here in America, actually have these 9 principles as a part of their public mission statement or similar document.

They were written by Sir Robert Peel, the "Founder of Modern Policing" -

The Peelian Principles (bold text mine .ed):

Peelian Principle 1 - “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.”

Peelian Principle 2 - “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.”

Peelian Principle 3 - “Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

Peelian Principle 4 - “The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.”

Peelian Principle 5 - “Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.”

Peelian Principle 6 - “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.”

Peelian Principle 7 - “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

Peelian Principle 8 - “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”

Peelian Principle 9 - “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.”

Breathtaking. Simple. Succinct. And the general tradition of policing in America prior to 25 or so years ago.

Prior to that, when the police crossed the line, they were punished. Were there exceptions? Of course. But they were just that - exceptions.

Now, it seems police misconduct, and more importantly, a sea-change in the attitude of police towards the rest of society, has this situation worsening. The very heart of the Peelian Principles of police conduct have been swept out the door.

Now, people are pushing back.

I think the biggest driver of this change in police attitudes began with the introduction of SWAT teams. When SWAT teams were originally proposed to the public, we were sold on the idea that they had a very clearly defined set of rules as to when they would be used:

Hostage and barricade situations

Terrorist acts

Active shooters

That was it. Situations where a private citizen or sworn officer would be unable to control the situation using normal means, such as persuasion, non-lethal devices or even sidearms.

The shit had hit the fan, big time.

Now, SWAT teams are deployed to enforce business license compliance. I kid you not -

Law enforcement officers who conducted a warrantless SWAT-style raid on an Orlando barber shop, ostensibly to help inspectors conduct a routine occupational licensing exam [...]

If you click the link above, you'll see that a court has ruled that this use of SWAT was unconstitutional, and the agency involved will not be allowed to claim Qualified Immunity for their actions.

This is a very good thing. Hang the bastards out to dry.

And equally irrelevant. How could anyone involved - from the commander in charge, to the cop first through the door - think this was Constitutional?

That's the problem. No one was thinking. They were just blindly following orders.

THAT is scary as all hell. The last thing we need are police agencies full of mindless order-takers.

What I believe has happened is when these police agencies built their SWAT teams, the "elite members" got restless. They train, and train, and train, and want to put that training to use in the real world.

I know that when I buy a new gun or gear, I want to go out and use it. I go to the range, and in the past, I would compete in IDPA events to test my skills.

But that was it. I never felt the need to gear-up and do a take-down of the UPS guy when he delivered a package to my home.

The SWAT guys convinced their bosses that a little bit of, "mission creep" was a good way to get some real-life experience without alarming the public.

It probably started with deploying SWAT to raid some really bad and dangerous drug lord. Kick the fuckin' door in, and show the drug-dealin', baby-killin' bastard who's boss!

The public liked it - no one likes drug lords - so the creep continued. Drug warehouses. Child molesters. Even street-level drug dealers.

None of which, it should be noted, are qualified under the original charter for SWAT.

Here's another example. How would you have reacted if some ninja dude entered your home at oh-dark-thirty? Ask any cop how THEY would have reacted.

Attempting to serve a search warrant by entering a house through a window got Killeen, Texas, Police Detective Charles Dinwiddie shot in the face and killed last May. It was yet another SWAT raid organized for a purpose other than the reason they were invented. The police had a search warrant looking for narcotics at the home of Marvin Louis Guy, 49. They decided to serve this warrant at 5:30 in the morning and without knocking on his door. He opened fire on them, killing Dinwiddie and injuring three others.

Here's an idea: Why don't you wait down the street with a couple of officers in unmarked car. When Mr. Guy exits the home, pull him over, THEN search his house. If he starts shooting, or rushes back in and locks himself in the house, THEN call out SWAT.

Not as fun, right?

Oh, by the way, the police found NO DRUGS. Still, Texas prosecutors want to execute him. FOR DEFENDING HIS HOME AGAINST UNKNOWN INVADERS!

No hostages or barricade.
No terrorist activities.
No active shooter.
No-knock warrant.
No drugs.

Yeah, let's fry that guy in the electric chair.---

As noted earlier, the litmus test for what qualifies for calling out the door-kickers has now dropped to expired business licenses. They need a tank, armored personnel carriers and FULLY automatic weapons. What gives?

During this evolution in how police interact with us, a new buzz phrase emerged: Officer Safety.

You can justify damned near anything if you say you're doing it to maintain Officer Safety.

The public disagrees. We care about OUR safety. We're paying you to put yourself at risk. If you don't like that deal, then quit.

We're getting pissed off, and some of us are shooting back.

Perhaps even worse for the agencies, the public revulsion with police actions has moved to mockery. When your actions result in widespread mockery, you need to re-examine how you do business.

---

But it isn't just the violence. It is the widespread, utter disregard for the law. Top of the list is this whole, "asset forfeiture" abomination.

A Sir Peel reminder -

Peelian Principle 8 - “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”

The condensed story is, travel with cash, get pulled over, you will likely lose the cash.

American shakedown: Police won't charge you, but they'll grab your money
U.S. police are operating a co-ordinated scheme to seize as much of the public’s cash as they can

There’s a shakedown going on in the U.S., and the perps are in uniform.

Across America, law enforcement officers — from federal agents to state troopers right down to sheriffs in one-street backwaters — are operating a vast, co-ordinated scheme to grab as much of the public’s cash as they can; “hand over fist,” to use the words of one police trainer.

It usually starts on the road somewhere. An officer pulls you over for some minor infraction — changing lanes without proper signalling, following the car ahead too closely, straddling lanes. The offence is irrelevant.

Then the police officer wants to chat, asking questions about where you’re going, or where you came from, and why. He’ll peer into your car, then perhaps ask permission to search it, citing the need for vigilance against terrorist weaponry or drugs.

What he’s really looking for, though, is money.

Because of the War On Drugs, (uh, or was it the War On Terror?), any agency can seize your cash, as "ill-gotten profits" or similar such nonsense. No proof is needed. They just snatch it up.

You can file a claim, go to court - after hiring a lawyer and spending countless hours proving it's your money - and you might actually win.

Or, you can just sign this little waiver, we'll take your cash, and be done with this whole messy affair.

Net-net, it will usually make more sense to just sign the waiver. You'll get to keep more cash in your pocket.

The Washington Post this week reported that in the past 13 years, there have been 61,998 cash seizures on roadways and elsewhere without use of search warrants.

The total haul: $2.5 billion, divided pretty much equally between the U.S. government and state and local authorities (hence the Kafkaesque “equitable sharing” euphemism).

Half of the seizures, according to the Post, were below $8,800. Only a sixth of those who had money taken from them pursued its return.

Hell, I'd like to participate in a system where I had a 5-in-6 chance of winning, and zero chance of any loss, or being held accountable for my illegal actions.

So the agencies keep on taking.
---

And the trust further erodes.

And the anger builds.

And the violent acts of reprisal happen with increased frequency.

As opposed to changing their ways, the police instead, "Kick it up a notch". More guns, more tanks, more disdain for the public.

Hell, they're just protecting their turf and their paychecks.

Back to the guy in Pennsylvania -

Bivens said residents should remain “alert and vigilant,” report suspicious activity, lock doors and keep house exteriors well lit. But he said he is “convinced Frein is engaged in a personal battle with law enforcement, particularly the Pennsylvania State Police, and will likely stay focused on that fight.”

Bivens - a Lt. Colonel with the State Police (that's a military designation, isn't it - not a traditional police rank?) - has it right. This Frein guy has it bad for the Pennsylvania State Police. To this point, he's making them look like rabid chimps on an ice rink.

Still, they'll likely catch him, and as the good Colonel notes -

“In the event you are listening to this broadcast on a portable radio while cowering in some cold, damp hiding place, I want you to know one thing. Eric, we are coming for you. It is only a matter of time until we bring you to justice.”

My guess is that the Colonel's definition of "justice" means Mr. Frein ends up well-ventilated by military-grade, fully-automatic weapons.

The exact type of attitude and actions that got them in this mess in the first place.

---Share this post! Click the Twitter, Facebook or Google+ icon below, and let your friends know!Copyright 2014 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Saturday, September 13, 2014

I figured I'd wait a day or two until all of the fussing had subsided. Our fruit fly attention span is now following some new shiny bobble. Oooo, look! A couple of violent NFL players. Who'd a-thunk it?

9/11. I just don't get it.

Why do we do this every year? For thirteen years now, we haul out the memories of us getting our ass handed to us, and we feel sorry for ourselves.

Why do we feel the need to do this every, single year? What purpose does this serve?

I understand the folks that lost friends and family members mourning their loss. I do, and I would do the same had I lost a love one. But that's a private affair, not something that should be paraded about.

We should remember the firefighters and police that died that day. They were killed in the line of duty. Genuine heroes. It was an honorable act that should be remembered forever.

Memorialized like Pearl Harbor. Somber and respectful. Use the event as a call to service.

This happens to a certain extent, but the star of the show is the victims. Or the wannabees.

I, like most folks alive at the time, remember the planes slamming into the Trade Centers and bringing them down.

It was horrible. It was gut-wrenching. And it was over a decade ago. Am I a victim because I witnessed the destruction on live TV from my home in California?

Seriously, move on.

But no. This replaying of the, "We were victims," meme does nothing more than to
reinforce the idea that we're helpless souls, unable to defend ourselves, who must
depend upon some faceless government to keep us safe.

Clang the bell at the appropriate moments when the VICTIMS died. Victim, victim, VICTIM.

Use the occasion to keep the public wallowing in puddles of their own pee by telling them they'll be VICTIMS if ISIS - who is even worse and more powerful than Al Qaeda - isn't stopped this very instant. Victim, victim, VICTIM.

We have this national obsession with victims. Everyone want to be one. It makes you part of the club.

We see victims - real victims - being lionized by the media. Rape victims, and the like. This obsession with "turn the spotlight onme, me, me" spreads through our nation, and people yearn to be portrayed as a victim.

"I have a cousin, who knows a guy whose best friend died in the Trade Centers."

What the hell? Victimhood-by-proxy?

Snippets from blogs and social media from Thursday -

Horrible day. I was living in New York City working as a newspaper reporter and I still cannot get over the fact that 2,977 innocent Americans were murdered that morning.

I was on a Navy base in Norfolk that day. They locked down our building and no one moved around. Me and two other guys in the CCTV room grabbed our hindparts and waited for Naval Station Norfolk to be hit and we hoped that we would survive if it was.

My mother's unexpected death changed it all. [Her mother died the day before, on 9/10. She's a victim because she couldn't fly the next day.]

...On 9/11, my heart attack did prevent at least one, and possibly two other tragic deaths. [Supposed to be in NYC on 9/11]

I knew that day my life would change forever and it did. [This person was in her home in southern California]

I was this close to becoming a victim, too. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds of sites dedicated to these victimhood wannabees.

Why this burning desire to be a victim? I just don't get it.
---

How about we stop this pity-party, and actually do something?

1. Let's teach our nation not to be afraid. Use the occasion to talk straight, and preach self-reliance. Just like you can't stop crazy person from kicking in your door to kill you, you can't stop an individual terrorist from trying to kill you. Prepare yourself and your family to defend your own life.

Use the occasion to bring us together as a tribe of self-reliant individuals who will have each others backs.

A leader would do this, a politician won't. They'll use the occasion to grow their business - big government. We need more cops, more SWAT teams, more TSA, more VIPR squads, more everything.

Those things won't do squat against a dedicated terrorist. See Boston Marathon for further clarification.

2. If we want to remember someone who died as a result of 9/11, I want to remember and read off the names of our service members who lost their lives over in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I want to stick a big, fat, pissed-off finger in the chest of the politicians that sent those (mostly) men to their deaths without giving them a measurable objective, and scream, "WHY?!"

How in God's Name could we send those men over there and not tell them, "When you accomplish X, you're done, and are coming home."

Instead, we sent them over there on the vague premise of, "Let's kill them there, so we don't have to kill them here."

How do you know when you're done?! You don't, because you'll never be done. There's always someone, somewhere that needs killing.

And when you strangle them with Rules Of Engagement that border on the insane, you guarantee a long, drawn-out "war".

Just what the pols and their funding sources want.

3. Watch 'em. All flavors of government use this kind of occasion to convince us that they need to get bigger, and eat up more of our Constitutional rights, all in the name of safety.

Don't let them get away with it, unheard.

Push back, even when it means putting yourself into harm's way. It's easy for me to say, and I admit, it's tough to do. But we've got no other choice if we want to live free.

---Share this post! Click the Twitter, Facebook or Google+ icon below, and let your friends know!Copyright 2014 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com